


treehouse

by tototooru



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Enemies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, hoseok and hyunjung are the softest best friends please love them, short chapters but quick updates, updating two chapters at a time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 6,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11171898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tototooru/pseuds/tototooru
Summary: chae hyungwon had the coolest treehouse on the block. only a few had the chance to go there. shin hoseok was doing everything possible to impress the other and be one of the few.





	1. Chapter 1

hoseok was leaning on the railing of the veranda, looking at the neighborhood kids playing hide and seek or whatever lame excuse of the game that was.

he sighed and took a few steps back, plopping on the chair behind him.

it wasn't like he didn't want to join them. it was completely the opposite - he always had fun playing with the others. the thing was that he was aware that he wasn't very liked.

sometimes they would accept hoseok in their company, but it would end up in them making fun of him. sometimes it wasn't like that. it happened that he would last a day, maybe even two, without being made fun of and genuinely have fun with the others. it was rare but it happened.

he really had no idea why were they acting like that with him but he knew one thing for sure - ten year olds could be merciless.

one of the kids that despised him the most was the boy living right next to him.

his name was chae hyungwon and he was known for having the coolest treehouse around. some even called it the coolest treehouse in town. hoseok had no idea if it was exaggerated for he wasn't allowed in that house and had never gone.

it had always piqued his interest what was on the inside of it. it didn't look like anything that much on the outside. it wasn't impressing or anything. but it was really big.

that treehouse was the main reason hoseok wanted to be a part of the group.

he hadn't made an attempt to talk to the others for around a week. he was just spending his time sitting on the porch, making plans how to get into that house.

being friends with the others already failed enough times. he had to be friends with the coolest yet the brattiest among them so he could get accepted.

he was ready to do everything to impress hyungwon just to get into that treehouse.


	2. Chapter 2

the weather had gradually gotten worse the past few days. it was raining almost every day and the warm sun was replaced by a gray sky with dark clouds.

no one was crazy enough to stay outside. but hoseok had noticed one thing - from time to time there were kids sprinting from their houses to hyungwon's treehouse. apparently even the rain didn't stop them from going there.

the treehouse was probably warm. which hoseok couldn't explain since it was literally a house on a tree. after all, was it even supposed to have electricity or anything like that?... maybe it was connected to the house, hoseok thought. once again wondering if that was possible.

at some point he had even started thinking that the treehouse was indeed hyungwon's room. which was stupid of him to think because he could literally see hyungwon's room from his own window.

he supposed it was nice having friends in a weather like that. or just someone to spend time with in general.

the only friend he had lived on the other side of town and they didn't really communicate anywhere besides in class.

most of his time was spent in reading books or playing video games. the same thing. every day.

reading books was really enjoyable but it felt better when he was sitting on the veranda while doing it.

"hoseokkie, are you okay?" his mom asked as she saw the way he was gazing outside.

hoseok snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her, trying his best to smile and make it look genuine. "yeah," he responded.

she obviously didn't believe him. she walked over to the couch, sitting next to hoseok and pulling him in a hug. "what's wrong?" she asked, combing the boy's hair with her fingers.

hoseok was quiet for a while. he really didn't want to upset his mom. "i just wish i had friends... but no one likes me."

"don't talk like that, sweetheart." mrs. shin kissed the top of his head. "you will find friends soon."

"will i really?" he asked looking at her with so much hope in his eyes.

"of course you will," she smiled.

and hoseok believed. if it was something his mom had told him, he had to believe. she would never lie.


	3. Chapter 3

a year had passed so quickly.

yet hoseok hadn't made any progress. he had completely isolated himself from the others in the neighborhood. he was just telling himself that impressing hyungwon needed a plan made of steel that had to be built carefully.

meanwhile, he had started being considered one of the nerds at his school because he wasn't hanging out with anyone but the outsiders that were talkative enough to be friends with him.

if not anything else, at least his circle of friends had gotten bigger - from one to four. it was an impressive achievement.

this was making him more confident in talking to some of his neighbors.

...probably.

but he knew he had to do something soon because he still felt lonely when it was the weekend or a vacation and he really did change his mind a lot, but his final decision was to talk to the others when hyungwon wasn't around. they were a lot nicer when hyungwon was somewhere else, he had noticed.

he was, once again, reading on the veranda when he noticed that there were just three kids outside. hyungwon was nowhere to be seen, so he got up, left the book and walked to them.

"hey, hoseok," a girl, called hyunjung, said as she saw the boy standing in front of the small group.

"hi," hoseok greeted with a shy voice. "can i stay with you?"

the three looked at each other to see if all of them approved. they nodded and looked back at hoseok. "of course you can," hyunjung said with a wide smile

hoseok sat next to her, looking at what they were playing. it was just some game with marbles that seemed made up by them.

since hyunjung was the only one who seemed genuinely friendly with hoseok, they were talking to each other from time to time.

hoseok would ask her about the game and she would explain it and all of the rules that seemed impossible. but it was what made the game even more fun because, apparently, that was motivating them to be better at playing.

the boy was having a lot of fun until he looked up and saw hyungwon approaching.


	4. Chapter 4

the sudden change in everyone's behavior towards hoseok the moment they saw hyungwon approaching was heartbreaking. the boy quickly realized that they had been treating him like that this whole time just because hyungwon hated him and no one wanted to he kicked out from their small group. and most importantly no one wanted to not be able to go to the treehouse.

the closer hyungwon was getting, the more and the louder the others were mocking hoseok. it was obvious he wasn't wanted anymore, so he just started heading back home, back in his comfort zone. where there was no hyungwon who could ruin his mood.

when he looked behind his shoulder, he saw that hyunjung wasn't very pleased about the whole situation either. she was not brave enough to do anything about it, so she just waved at hoseok, hoping he would come back when hyungwon wasn't around.

hoseok just gave her a light smile and looked ahead of himself again. he took his book from the chair on the porch and walked in.

"i'm home," hoseok raised his voice after closing the door. he took off his shoes and went to the kitchen, lead by the sweet smell of freshly baked cookies.

"i saw you were playing with the others," mrs. shin said with a warm smile.

"yeah. but then hyungwon appeared and i was forced to go back here," hoseok pouted.

his mom took more cookies out of the oven and put them in a different plate from the ones she had previously made. she then walked over to hoseok and wrapped her arms around the boy's shoulders. "you will get along with him, too, some day."

"i'm not sure if i want to be friends with him."

mrs. shin just sighed and ruffled his hair, not sure what to tell him anymore. she was just going to repeat herself. she gave him one of the plates, full of cookies. "everything will be okay soon," she said once again.

"you've already told me that so many times..."

"it might not happen that soon but i know that it will happen."

hoseok took a cookie and put it in his mouth as he turned to head towards his room. "will dad be coming home soon?" he looked at his mom again, still munching on the cookie.

it wasn't a big surprise that she shook her head. he wasn't expecting anything else anyways.

he went to his room with the cookies and played on his computer for the rest of the afternoon, wasting the time in which he could've been outside with the others.


	5. Chapter 5

"hey, hoseok," hyunjung warmly greeted the boy who, instead of noticing her, just walked past her as if she wasn't there.

she got up from the edge of the sidewalk and ran to him to catch up. she stopped in front of him, blocking his way to his house.

"why are you ignoring me?"

hoseok also stopped and threw her the most " _i'm so done with you_ " glare he could ever pull off. "why are you trying to ruin my life?"

"i'm not--"

"not only you. simply everyone in this neighborhood." he wasn't getting a response. of course he wouldn't. as if he had expected anything else. he was speaking the truth, after all. "it's because of hyungwon, right?"

hyunjung nodded slightly. "he says that if we are his friends we can't be friends with you... we are just doing it because of the treehouse but he isn't all that good as a person."

it was stupid of hoseok to ask if they were friends with hyungwon only because they want to get to the treehouse. after all, that was what he was aiming to do, too. but he had always expected that they were _actually_ his friends for real. apparently, things weren't exactly like that.

"honestly, i don't even want to be friends with him anymore," hyunjung continued. "because i like you and you are way better than him."

hoseok nearly choked. he had no idea there would be someone who thought of him as better than hyungwon.

he ended up leaving his stuff at home and coming back to hyunjung.

they were playing cards on hoseok's veranda for hours, not even realizing when the day had passed. it felt like they had been together for just a few minutes.

"are we going to hang out tomorrow?" hoseok asked. there was so much hope in his voice and he wished, he really wished, that that bit of hope didn't get crushed.

the girl thought for a while.

she was having an internal battle if she wanted to continue being friends with hyungwon. she didn't.

"we will," she smiled.

hoseok just pulled her into a hug, whispering "thank you so much" against her shoulder.

he was happy.


	6. Chapter 6

hyunjung was hoseok's only friend in the neighborhood for really long. she wasn't friends with hyungwon anymore and she was also considered an outcast just like her new best friend. every of hyungwon's, so called, friends turned against her, too, bullying her from time to time.

it wasn't a problem, though. she could endure it for even longer. what was important was that they had each other, no matter how cheesy that sounds.

they were lying sprawled on hoseok's bed, staring at the ceiling. they were used to chilling in silence since that was how they spent most of their time. hyunjung was okay with the fact that hoseok didn't talk much, it didn't bother her.

all in all, she didn't have a problem with anything as long as hoseok was her friend. and hoseok was fine as long as he had a friend.

even after a year they still hadn't gotten tired of each other which was kind of amazing.

"hoseok?" hyunjung spoke, looking at the older. hoseok hummed quietly. "let's get the others to ally with us against hyungwon," the girl suggested.

hoseok looked back at her. "it's a good idea but i don't think they are going to give up on the treehouse that easily."

hyunjung suddenly got up and sat on the bed, pulling hoseok's arm. " _come ooon_ ," she whined. "it's been a year and it's just the two of us, we need our own army, too." she finally made hoseok also sit up.

"it was just me for years, what's the problem?" he rested his head on the younger's shoulder. "it's just kind of pointless trying. not everyone is like you."

hyunjung pouted. "let's at least try talking with them. after all, i was good friends with them before and i know they also dislike hyungwon."

they plopped down on the bed again, both letting out a long sigh.

"we need a good plan," hoseok said.

"no. we just need to talk. you were planning on how to get to the treehouse and i can't see that leading you anywhere." hoseok hit hyunjung on the arm lightly. " _ow_!"

"don't underestimate my plans," hoseok grinned at her.


	7. Chapter 7

hyunjung approached one of hyungwon's friends with a deceiving smile. he also smiled at her, thinking she was coming back to their group again.

"hey, chanhee," she greeted, her smile growing wider.

"hey, hyunjung. what's brining you here?" the boy asked.

he was so cute that for a second hyunjung felt kind of bad that she was going to lie to him and trick him. but it was for a good cause.

the fact that he wasn't suspecting anything probably made her feel a little bit calmer.

a sudden change of plans happened when hyungwon appeared out of nowhere, not letting the two even have some sort of a forced and relatively awkward conversation.

"hey, hyungwon," hyunjung smiled at him, too.

"are you coming back to us?" hyungwon asked, as always pretty much full of himself. he was so self confident that at times it made hyunjung want to punch him in the face.

a new plan was cooking inside the girl's head. she felt a bit sad because she had to leave hoseok all alone for a while but she was going to explain everything to him as soon as possible.

"yeah, i'm coming back," she lied.

she wasn't supposed to feel bad. after all, she was doing it for her best friend, who just wanted and deserved to have friends.

"that's great," hyungwon also smiled. "do you want to come over to my place with us?"

"sure."

on their way to the treehouse hyunjung noticed that hoseok was watching them from the veranda, throwing the girl a questioning look.

hyunjung just made a few gestures with her hand behind her back, trying to logically explain what was happening without going to him and using words. she almost didn't believe it when hoseok actually nodded. he understood her _somehow_.

they both gave each other a thumbs up before hyunjung climbed into the treehouse with the other two boys.


	8. Chapter 8

"i made some kind of an alliance with chanhee and soobin already," hyunjung told hoseok, making herself more comfortable in the boy's embrace. "there are a few more but i will make sure for everyone, or at least almost everyone, to actually agree on leaving hyungwon before we do anything else."

hoseok just nodded, nuzzling against the girl's shoulder afterwards. he held her tight because it was the first time in a month that he finally managed to sneak into hyunjung's house so they could talk even if it was just for a few minutes.

hyunjung couldn't go close to hoseok's house anymore since he lived right next to hyungwon, but if she played her cards right, that was going to change soon and everything was going to be back to normal.

except that she wouldn't have as much time with hoseok as she had before because they would have much more friends.

it was kind of sad. but after all, she was doing it for hoseok, not for herself.

"i missed you a lot," hyunjung spoke again, her lips curving into a smile. "it's really hard trying to still act friends with hyungwon."

hoseok didn't say anything. he had been really quiet the whole time and just then it started worrying the girl. it wasn't the usual silence that they were used to.

this time the atmosphere was kind of heavier and she wondered how was she not able to notice it sooner.

"what's wrong?" the black haired girl asked, shifting in a way that she was now facing hoseok.

"nothing," hoseok mumbled, trying to smile. "i'm happy."

"i can see you're not."

"it's just that from time to time i believed that you left me alone again." he looked away, playing with his fingers. "but i'm really glad we're together again."

the girl sighed and snuggled into the other again. "i'd never leave you. you know that."

"but i'm still scared."


	9. Chapter 9

it hadn't happened in a long time that hoseok was going back home from school "together" with hyungwon. or at least he hadn't noticed.

but today he did notice and he felt a bit nervous and intimidated because the younger was walking right behind him, as if almost breathing into his neck even though he was at least two meters behind.

"hey, hoseok," hyungwon called, making the other shiver a bit, yet he continued walking, pretending that he didn't hear hyungwon.

"don't ignore me," hyungwon spoke again, this time with a bit more demanding tone.

hoseok currently had two options - to continue walking or to actually face hyungwon. the last time hyungwon wanted to talk to him about something, he didn't leave him alone for around two weeks, always appearing at his front door or following him around.

so maybe it would be good if hoseok just got over with the fact that there was no other way out of this.

he took a deep breath and suddenly stopped, causing hyungwon to stop, too. he turned to the taller, raising an eyebrow at him as he tried to look at least a bit tough. "what do you want?"

"stop hitting on my girl," hyungwon said coldly.

"and your girl is?" this time hoseok wasn't even acting, he really wasn't going to take any of hyungwon's shit.

"as if you don't know," hyungwon snorted. "just stay away from hyunjung, will you?"

hoseok was staring at hyungwon for a while, trying to figure out what to say that would be suitable enough for hyungwon to understand, considering how stupid he was.

"we're not even friends for me to stay close to her," the shorter lied. his voice sounded so calm that hyungwon got even more annoyed.

"you're trying to!"

"how can you even know that, considering you can't even see farther than your stupid treehouse? leave me alone."

the older headed back home, leaving behind a rather confused and still angry hyungwon.


	10. Chapter 10

as hyungwon was walking back home from school, he noticed that hoseok was, once again, walking in front of him. they didn't even go to the same school which was why he got so annoyed.

every single day for the past few weeks it happened that he got back home at the exact same time as hoseok. it was unreal how that made him hate the older even more.

he would never actually admit what was his reason for hating hoseok. he himself knew that the reason was more or less stupid and was realizing it better through the years. but, on the other hand, he still couldn't look at him. he wanted to ruin his life as long as he was around.

he was usually not like that. he wasn't one to hate others. yet there was something in hoseok, he didn't know what, that was annoying the hell out of him.

as he walked into his house, successfully avoiding getting noticed by hoseok, hyungwon was met by his mom.

"hey," he greeted, noticing that she was headed to somewhere. "where are you going?"

"over to the shins' house. do you want to come with me?"

hyungwon cringed a bit at the mention of the name. "not really."

mrs. chae tilted her head a bit. "hoseok should have gone home by now, you two could hang out."

speaking of the shin family, _or at least what was left of it_ , hyungwon's parents were quite good friends with hoseok's parents. not for any special reason, it was just because they lived next to each other.

it was yet one more thing that hyungwon was _annoyed_ of. he was occasionally made to go to hoseok's house (or the other way around), told that he could hang out with the older. it was seriously the last thing he wanted to do.

"you know i don't really like hoseok," hyungwon pressed his lips in a thin line.

mrs. chae sighed. "give him a chance, hyungwon. he's a nice kid."

"maybe next time."

he hoped that next time wasn't going to happen, he wished his parents just stopped talking communicating with hoseok's family.


	11. Chapter 11

every time mrs. chae was around, hoseok tried everything possible to run away and hide somewhere, preferably in his own room. he couldn't even put into words how uncomfortable that woman made him feel.

she was really nice, hoseok couldn't deny it. she was really friendly and most likely a good mom.

but she also really wanted him to be friends with hyungwon for some reason and tried talking about that with him every time she had the chance, convincing him that they should talk to each other.

at some point that was nice of her. a part of him even though that hyungwon initiated all of this just because he wanted to be friends with hoseok but was too embarrassed of talking to him first but everyone knew that that wasn't possible because hyungwon genuinely disliked him.

it became _really_ bothersome when mrs. chae started pushing too much.

it made hoseok wonder why would she want him to be friends with her son.

it was true that she was friends with his mom, yet that didn't mean he had to try befriending hyungwon.

surprisingly, this time she didn't bother him. she was just talking to his mom, as if neither even noticed that he was in the room. and that was nice at least in that case.

"mom, i'm going out with hyunjung," hoseok said after the said girl messaged him.

"okay, sweetie, have fun," mrs. shin smiled.

hoseok went outside and rushed to hyunjung's house. the girl welcomed him in almost right after he rang on the doorbell.

"'sup?" she asked as the boy walked in and started taking his shoes off.

"hyungwon's mom is at home _again_ ," hoseok sighed.

"oh no. was she going with the _you should be friends with my dearest son hyungwon_ speech?"

"not this time."

they went upstairs to the girl's room. they spent the whole afternoon playing games.

hoseok didn't even consider that mrs. chae knew who hyunjung was, that hyungwon talked about her often and that she could tell hyungwon.


	12. Chapter 12

"hoseok!" hyungwon yelled from the other side of the street as he saw the older boy getting out of his house.

hoseok shivered a bit as he saw hyungwon stomping towards him. he looked really angry and hoseok was kind of scared.

as soon as hyungwon came close enough, he grabbed hoseok by the collar. "i thought i told you to not get close to hyunjung," he growled out.

"i don't know what you're talking about," hoseok calmly said, looking at hyungwon in the eyes. he grabbed him by the wrist, making him let go.

"liar!" hyungwon yelled in his face. "yesterday when my mom was over at your house you went out with hyunjung, didn't you?"

thinking of a way how to escape, hoseok probably chose the most stupid thing to say.

"why are you so annoying?"

hyungwon didn't even bother giving him an answer different than a punch to the face.

hoseok stepped back a little, holding his jaw and trying to figure out if there was anything wrong in his mouth. he didn't taste any blood. hyungwon didn't hit him that hard yet for a second he got a bit scared.

he felt anger build up inside him. he wasn't like that. but he hit back. he continued as hyungwon was still trying to fight him.

for his big surprise, he turned out to be stronger than hyungwon. that didn't last long, though. he got tired way too fast and hyungwon took advantage of that.

thankfully, soon there were three boys, one of which was chanhee, that noticed hyungwon and hoseok fighting and they quickly ran to them and tried to pull them away from each other.

"don't ever get close to her again, understood?" hyungwon growled as he was being made to go home by two of the boys.

"as if."

"wanna get hit again?!" hyungwon raised his fist up in the air.

" _hyungwon, stop_ ," chanhee muttered, pulling hyungwon towards his house.

"only when you learn to hit harder, idiot," hoseok kept on annoying the younger on purpose.

"next time there won't be anyone saving your ass."


	13. Chapter 13

everyone left hyungwon.

(or at least almost everyone.)

the moment hyunjung found out about what happened she finally made the others leave. after all, everyone knew that hyungwon attacked hoseok first.

and for an extremely stupid reason on top of that.

no one supported him for fighting with someone else just because of a girl. not even hyunjung, who, _according to what hyungwon thought_ , had to feel flattered about the fact that he was ready to start a fight for her. well, apparently she wasn't.

at first no one believed that hoseok fought back. it seemed quite unrealistic because everyone knew of him as someone quiet who never got into a fights even when someone else put up one. it just didn't seem like it was in his nature.

but it became more believable when they saw the bruise on hyungwon's face and how he was limping lightly while walking.

now hyungwon had no more than four friends left. one of which started hanging out with hoseok, too.

he was upset. of course he was. but if he never fought with hoseok he wouldn't know what his _friends_ thought about him, that they were pretending to be his friends only because of the treehouse.

maybe he was better off without knowing about their true feelings. at least now he knew who really wanted to be with him.

unfortunately, hyunjung wasn't one of those people. that was okay, though. he was going to win her somehow. he just had to get rid of hoseok and make everyone be his friends again.

he thought that forcing someone to be his friend would work. he really believed that was how everyone went on hoseok's side.


	14. Chapter 14

hoseok was slowly getting used to the idea of having friends. he went out every day, he spent a lot of time with his best friend once again and, most importantly, he was happy.

at times he found himself feeling a little bit guilty. but then he realized he shouldn't. he deserved having friends after all the bullying he had to go through. also, hyungwon still had friends. it wasn't like he was left all one.

another thing that he was happy about was the fact that hyunjung stopped complaining. hyungwon had stopped trying to hit on her every now and then. it was chill.

going back home from school with hyungwon somewhere around had become something like a routine already. they just happened to finish school at the same time, there was nothing weird in that.

what was weird was that hyungwon would try tagging along with hoseok sometimes. he would just walk beside him without saying a word, creating a really awkward atmosphere.

during the weekend hoseok would sometimes catch hyungwon staring at him from the treehouse. which was even weirder.

"hey, what's his problem?" hyunjung asked when she finally noticed it, too. hoseok had been staring back at hyungwon for a few minutes already as if they were having a staring contest and hyunjung decided to also look at the same direction.

"i am his problem, i guess," hoseok shrugged. "he hasn't left me alone for quite a while.

"what do you mean?"

hoseok had never mentioned anything to hyunjung.

"sometimes when i'm coming back from school and catches up with me and we're walking "together" until we reach our homes," he explained, feeling like it wasn't that much of a big deal.

"what if he's trying to be friends with you just to get everyone back on his side?"

"he's not that smart." hoseok finally averted his gaze, looking at hyunjung.


	15. Chapter 15

"mom, i don't want to go there," hyungwon whined as his mom was already getting ready.

"you promised me," mrs. chae looked at him with a serious expression. "you can't run away from hoseok forever."

"that's exactly what i'm planning on doing, though," hyungwon crossed his arms.

mrs. chae sighed. she took hyungwon's jacket and handed it to him. "please, just act nice for once. it won't hurt you."

sometimes hyungwon's mom pulled a really heartbreaking face just so she would make hyungwon do something. hyungwon hated it because it always made him feel really guilty. even though he knew she was faking it in most cases, he didn't want to make his mom sad.

he didn't even know why did he need a jacket if the shins' house was less than 50m away. but he quickly found out as soon as they went outside and the cold autumn wind blew into his face, making him shiver.

"so cold," he mumbled.

"seems like we will have to take out the warmer clothes soon," hyungwon's mom said.

for some reason that made hyungwon really happy. he really loved warm clothes.

they quickly reached the shins' house. mrs. shin welcomed them with a warm smile.

she spent a few minutes telling hyungwon how much he had grown and that he should come over more often.

"hoseok is upstairs," she informed the boy before going to the living room with mrs. chae.

hyungwon didn't really want to go there yet he didn't have anything else to do.

while walking up the stairs, he noticed that many pictures of hoseok's dad were gone, leaving only light rectangles on the wall where they were placed before. he got a bit curious about what had happened

as he reached hoseok's room, he knocked lightly, secretly hoping that hoseok didn't hear.

but the older did hear and soon a rather loud "go away" was heard from him.

hyungwon let out a sigh. "your mom made me come here. if i had any other choice i'd still be downstairs."

hoseok rolled his eyes. seemed like he also didn't have any other choice but to let hyungwon in and that annoyed him a lot.

"okay, you can come in," he said in defeat.


	16. Chapter 16

the two boys were sitting in both ends of hoseok's room. they were on their phones, feeling like that was going to distract them from each other's presence.

but at some point hyungwon didn't have anything to do on his phone, so he left it aside. his eyes wandered around the room.

most times hyungwon had been in that room, he was being forced to by either hoseok's mom or his own mom. this time was no exception.

for the first time, he spent more time in observing his surroundings.

the room wasn't tidy but it wasn't that messy either. hoseok managed to keep some kind of an organized chaos.

hyungwon's gaze finally fell on hoseok. the older boy immediately noticed and he glanced up at the other, who quickly looked away, acting like nothing happened.

hoseok was internally cursing at him, hoping that he left soon.

he had plans to go out with hyunjung until his mom told him that hyungwon and his mom were coming over. he didn't make a scene because of it but it still made him upset.

"what happened with your dad?" hyungwon asked out of the blue, causing hoseok to feel really uncomfortable.

"it's none of your business," hoseok muttered. he looked down at his phone again, holding it a bit tighter.

"it's really not," hyungwon hummed, fully aware of the fact. "i'm just trying to make some conversation going because i'm bored."

"and from all the things, you chose the thing i want to talk about the least?"

"i was just curious."

hoseok rolled his eyes. "just shut up."

during the next thirty-something minutes, hyungwon tried starting another conversation with hoseok but was, once again, cut off.

thankfully, at some point mrs. shin called them for dinner, which meant that hoseok was going to be left alone very soon.


	17. Chapter 17

unlike hoseok expected it would happen, he enjoyed the dinner quite a lot. maybe because it was quiet from hyungwon's side of the table most of the time.

it got a nuisance when the two boys found out that mrs. chae and hyungwon were staying for a sleepover.

"mom, why?!" hyungwon whined. "i want to go home."

mrs. chae didn't tell hyungwon nor did mrs. shin tell hoseok because they perfectly knew that in the best case at least one of them was going to react like that, if not both. apparently, hoseok had already gotten over the fact that he didn't have any luck.

"there's a little gas leak at home and we can't be there until people come to fix it," mrs. chae explained as she was fixing hyungwon's bangs gently.

"can't i go and sleep in the treehouse?" hyungwon pouted.

"i'd let you but i don't want you to catch a cold during the night. you will sleep in the guest room."

they had considered that their sons wouldn't want to be in one room any longer. but, ironically enough, the guest room was right next to hoseok's room. so if a miracle happened and the wall fell down, they were basically going to be in the same room.

"and where will you sleep?"

"in soojin's room," mrs. chae tilted her head towards mrs. shin, who just smiled warmly at him.

"but if you need anything, there's no problem to just come and wake one of us up. you could even call hoseok if you want to."

hyungwon was definitely not going to use the second option. and if he did, hoseok was just going to pretend that he's asleep.

"come on, i will help you set the bed," mrs. chae said and both her and hyungwon headed to the guest room.

hoseok looked at his mom with his eyebrows curled upwards. "mom, i don't want him here."

"i'm sorry, baby." mrs. shin pecked hoseok on the forehead. "he won't be here soon, i promise."


	18. Chapter 18

somewhere in the middle of the night, hoseok got woken up by hyungwon closing the door to the guest room a bit too loudly.

the next moment, hyungwon was making his way into hoseok's room. he turned the lights on, not caring if hoseok was asleep or not.

hoseok sat up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, trying to get used to the lightning. he should've considered locking the door to his room, he thought.

"what do you want?" he muttered. he looked up at hyungwon with only one eye open.

"where do you keep the key for the front door?" hyungwon asked.

"what???" hoseok's eyebrows furrowed. "where the fuck do you think you're gonna go? it's like..." he checked the digital clock on his bedside table. then, he looked at hyungwon again, his eyes suddenly wide open. "hyungwon, are you fucking crazy?! it's 1am."

hyungwon let out a loud groan. "who cares? just tell me where the key is, i want to go sleep in my treehouse."

the older rolled his eyes. of course he wasn't going to do whatever hyungwon told him to. he wasn't that stupid to let someone like hyungwon order him around.

he turned on his side and covered himself with his blanket again. "turn the lights off on your way out," he said, trying to tell hyungwon to go back to the guest room.

but hyungwon was too annoying of a person to just leave it like that. "is it so difficult to tell me?"

"if i tell you, you will have to let me in the treehouse," hoseok said.

"are you crazy?" hyungwon gasped. "no way!"

"then go away, i want to sleep."

hyungwon groaned again. apparently, his "not giving up" lasted less than a minute.

"this is why no one likes you," hyungwon muttered.

"manipulating others doesn't make them like you either," hoseok calmly said.


	19. Chapter 19

"hoseok?..."

it was the second time hoseok was being woken up by hyungwon. he swore to god, if there was a third time, he was kicking him out of the house without caring what his mom would say afterwards.

"leave me alone, i'm sleeping," hoseok muttered.

"please, listen..." there was something in hyungwon's voice and hoseok couldn't really understand what it was. it sounded like fear, worry, and sadness all at the same time.

the older groaned. he sat up in bed and looked at hyungwon. "what?"

"can i sleep here?" hyungwon looked way too embarrassed. he really hoped he will never have to end up in that situation ever again.

"no? as you see there's only one bed here."

hyungwon bit on his lower lip and looked away. hoseok noticed how he was nervously playing with his fingers.

"i promise i won't bother you," hyungwon mumbled.

hoseok was just staring at him, not saying anything. he didn't need to say anything, anyways. he already made it clear that he didn't want hyungwon in his room.

"i just had a nightmare and i'm too scared to sleep alone," hyungwon spoke quickly, feeling like hoseok was going to laugh at him for still being scared of his nightmares and having to sleep with someone else.

now hoseok had something he could use against hyungwon. he wasn't going to do that, of course. he wasn't like that.

"aren't you a bit old for that?" hoseok questioned, one eyebrow raised, which was making hyungwon even more uncomfortable.

"i guess," hyungwon stuttered.

hoseok sighed. he felt like he was too good of a person. considering that he felt kind of sorry for hyungwon and in a way that he actually sympathized.

he suddenly got up and walked over to the closet. "i wish i had a second mattress, so you could just sleep on the floor," he started rambling as he took out a pillow and a blanket. "but instead, you will be taking up space of my precious bed."

"thanks for not being an asshole for once, though."

"says the whiny ass bitch," hoseok rolled his eyes.

after hoseok set hyungwon's side of the bed and lied down, hyungwon turned the lights off and sat on the bed. his first reaction was to gasp because of how soft it was. he then lied down with his back against the other, who also had his back against him.

"if you snore even once, i'm throwing you out through the window," hoseok warned.

"good night to you, too."


End file.
